Great session!
Finally some players manage to actually defeat the Ottomans. Too bad they only got two provinces and some ducats (collectively). This was partly due to lack of coordination, although given the record of the Italians so far, that may be par for the course. Nonetheless, the Italians, under their mighty battle Popes are showing a lot of spirit! Hopefully next war with the Ottoblob they can reclaim land lost by Genoa and Venice. Deus Vault!
In the East, Orissa was, as expected, attacked by their erstwhile "allies." Hopefully Nepal's alliance with Ming will protect them for long enough to look for stronger allies further east and Orissa will be able to cling on by the skin of its teeth - after all, who doesn't love a good comeback story? Speaking of which, kudos to Kale for sticking in it and reclaiming their lost land and more, despite all odds and obstacles!
Some nice continued growth from Dai VIet as well. Perhaps he could also provide some backup to the Eastern alliance if the proper diplomatic maneuvers are made. So long as he doesn't get put in his place by a Ming-led coalition that is...
Meanwhile the Indians are expanding across the sea into the territory staked out by Ethiopia and Hormuz. Hormuz especially may come to regret not intervening in the affairs of the subcontinent sooner, but on the bright side Afghanistan leaving does at least open the way for them to form Persia.
In Europe it still seems unclear how the grand alliances will shape up. The major blocks seem to be Netherlands/Burgundy, the Italian League, and Baltic Marketing, but it isn't clear how united the latter is. It also isn't completely clear where Portugal, Saxony, and Bavaria fall in with these power blocks. With renewed conflict between Burgundy and the Italians could we expect a major European war to spice up the old continent in the near future or will consolidation of ai land continue?
Meanwhile such a conflict would hopefully give some breathing room to poorEl Presidente Duke Johan.
Meanwhile Kaiser Johan managed to complete his hat trick (three timer) betrayal of the peasant republic. Who could have thought that putting someone named Kaiser Johan in charge of peasants would result in himself becoming their monarch? Although his seemingly ironic dilemma of needing to keepDictator Protector Marcus Boie alive in order to rebuild his republican tradition to try and retain democracy did get me thinking of what sort of scenario could produce this, especially since the new ruler (Duke Henning von Frickingen) was not of Marcus' dynasty. So I give you my (very amateur) fan fact comic to try to explain my head canon (read left to right):
Good luck to all and keep fighting the good fight!
Finally some players manage to actually defeat the Ottomans. Too bad they only got two provinces and some ducats (collectively). This was partly due to lack of coordination, although given the record of the Italians so far, that may be par for the course. Nonetheless, the Italians, under their mighty battle Popes are showing a lot of spirit! Hopefully next war with the Ottoblob they can reclaim land lost by Genoa and Venice. Deus Vault!
In the East, Orissa was, as expected, attacked by their erstwhile "allies." Hopefully Nepal's alliance with Ming will protect them for long enough to look for stronger allies further east and Orissa will be able to cling on by the skin of its teeth - after all, who doesn't love a good comeback story? Speaking of which, kudos to Kale for sticking in it and reclaiming their lost land and more, despite all odds and obstacles!
Some nice continued growth from Dai VIet as well. Perhaps he could also provide some backup to the Eastern alliance if the proper diplomatic maneuvers are made. So long as he doesn't get put in his place by a Ming-led coalition that is...
Meanwhile the Indians are expanding across the sea into the territory staked out by Ethiopia and Hormuz. Hormuz especially may come to regret not intervening in the affairs of the subcontinent sooner, but on the bright side Afghanistan leaving does at least open the way for them to form Persia.
In Europe it still seems unclear how the grand alliances will shape up. The major blocks seem to be Netherlands/Burgundy, the Italian League, and Baltic Marketing, but it isn't clear how united the latter is. It also isn't completely clear where Portugal, Saxony, and Bavaria fall in with these power blocks. With renewed conflict between Burgundy and the Italians could we expect a major European war to spice up the old continent in the near future or will consolidation of ai land continue?
Meanwhile such a conflict would hopefully give some breathing room to poor
Meanwhile Kaiser Johan managed to complete his hat trick (three timer) betrayal of the peasant republic. Who could have thought that putting someone named Kaiser Johan in charge of peasants would result in himself becoming their monarch? Although his seemingly ironic dilemma of needing to keep
Good luck to all and keep fighting the good fight!
